With only three days left in office, President Barack Obama on
Tuesday commuted the majority of WikiLeaks whistleblower Chelsea
Manning's prison sentence.

Manning
was convicted of violating the Espionage Act, among other
charges, in 2013 after she stole secret documents from a computer
system she had access to while working as an intelligence analyst
in Iraq and leaked them to WikiLeaks in 2010.

She received a 35-year sentence for the leak and has served seven
years in Fort Leavenworth. She will now be freed in five months,
on May 17.

Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary,
told The New York Times on Tuesday that there was a "pretty
stark difference" between Manning's case and that of former
government employee Edward Snowden, the other recent high-profile
US leaker, who has taken asylum in Russia.

"Chelsea Manning is somebody who went through the military
criminal justice process, was exposed to due process, was found
guilty, was sentenced for her crimes, and she acknowledged
wrongdoing," Earnest said. "Mr. Snowden fled into the arms of an
adversary, and has sought refuge in a country that most recently
made a concerted effort to undermine confidence in our
democracy."

Snowden declared his support for Manning on Twitter.

"In five more months, you will be free," Snowden tweeted.
"Thank you for what you did for everyone, Chelsea. Stay strong a
while longer!"

Obama pardoned 64 other people on Tuesday and shortened the
sentences of 209 prisoners — Snowden was not among them. Over his
two terms, Obama has commuted the sentences of 1,385 people and
granted 212 pardons.